?Space for debate: How to go from inviting the public to building democratic publics??

The Stadsacademie is set up as a platform to build collective action (such as problem formulation, inquiry, action, political and societal debate) around a diversity of public issues ? i.e. wicked sustainability issues – between urban and academic actors. However, it has been a challenge to bridge the gap between the city and the university, and to guarantee ongoing collective reflection in our diverse trajectories. Students graduate and move on, young researchers finish their contracts, and professionals increasingly juggle various responsibilities with little time left to engage in collective reflection. Often, engagement is temporary, with partners stepping back after their formal responsibilities or initial involvement in research or consultation.

In this lunchtalk, our starting point is the question whether and how we can build more continuous reflection and debate around public issues. In our exploration, the concept of ?democratic publics? as envisioned by philosopher John Dewey and further developed in contemporary transdisciplinary research can be a source of inspiration. A democratic public consists of individuals who, through collective intelligence, work together in permanent groups to understand and address public issues. As in Habermas?s vision of the public sphere, this dialogue takes place in an open space where one can in principle be critical of the government. Additionally, this group plays a crucial educational role, fostering mutual learning and helping participants develop capacities while deepening their understanding of the varied interests related to the issue.

In the lunchtalk, Maarten Crivits will present his work on building democratic publics and apply this to the example of building democratic publics around agroecology. We will also explore the role of science and government in revitalizing the public sphere. In addition, there will be space for participants to share their experiences and discuss methodologies for understanding the role of the public sphere in research projects, educational programs, living labs, and beyond. Lastly, we will consider how these efforts can align with the mission of the Stadsacademie.

dr. Maarten Crivits is a researcher at Ghent University (CDO) and currently also working at INRAE (FR), within the research group AGIR research group AGIR (Agroécologie – Innovations- Territoires). As a political philosopher, he is interested in the political processes within the agriculture and food system. He wants to investigate the conditions for the public sphere to be reactivated, through cooperation between farmers and citizens, and from an agroecological framework. Currently he is conducting research on the political attitudes  of farmers in the Occitania region in France.

Please register via this link, we provide lunch!